Childhood Trauma Echoes Through Romantic Relationships
Abuse, neglect, and loss can reverberate in a partner’s behavior
The Loving Embrace of the Milky Way
Researchers have discovered that our galaxy’s outermost spiral arms are wide open and farther away than we thought
Here’s Just How Disgusting Your Kitchen Sponge Is
There may be illness lurking just to the right of the faucet
11 Books to Read This July
Marvelous maggots, biological warfare, AI survivalists, space myths, and more
Coincidences in My Life Have Me Wondering
My search for a hidden structure to astronomically unlikely occurrences
Latest Stories
Modern Humans and Neanderthals May Have Shared a Cave-Dwelling Culture
A cave in southern Türkiye is spilling its ancient secrets
How Hannibal’s War Elephants Helped to Determine His Route Through the Alps
When you go into battle with nearly 40 gigantic pachyderms, you need to take the shortest path possible
Read Stories from Our Newest Print Issue: Precarious
See moreThe Cephalopods Are Coming
Fossil records reveal Earth’s mass extinctions are followed by a rise of ocean cephalopods. They’re rising again.
Schrödinger’s Kittens Are All Grown Up
Offspring of the most famous thought experiment in physics are now testing the very fabric of the universe
The Most Precarious Day in the Universe
On the same day the world descended into war, physicists saw reality itself unraveling
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Cutting-edge science, unraveled by the brightest living thinkers.
Astronomy
See more AstronomySee Some of the Best Astronomy Photos of the Last Year
From Earth to the moon to deep space—and back again
Cosmic Shockwave Reshaped a Newly Discovered “Bow and Arrow” Galaxy
The discovery was made by a citizen scientist
The New Seismic Discovery Beneath the Surface of Mars
Earth isn’t alone—in its rock recycling processes
History
See more HistoryThe Rabies Vaccine Debuted Nearly 150 Years Ago Today
Pioneering microbiologist Luis Pasteur helped save the life of a dog-bitten boy
This Was a Big Week for Marie Curie, More Than 120 Years Ago
Despite steep odds, she became the first woman in France to earn a doctorate in science
Today Was the Day Galileo Caved
On this day almost four centuries ago, the father of modern science was forced to bow to political and religious pressure to save his life
Psychology
See more PsychologyDoes Your Chatbot Need a Therapist?
Scientists want to use LLMs to model human emotions and study human mental health
How Humans Are Like Bloodhounds and Bats
A conversation with writer Richard Louv, who coined the term “nature deficit disorder”
“Me, Myself, and I”: The Increasing Narcissism of Western Music
Individualistic pronouns have grown more common in pop songs over the past half century
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Environment
See more EnvironmentCan We Air-Condition Our Way Out of Climate Change?
No. But in the midst of intense heat waves it may be necessary to save lives.
Hidden Fungal Networks Could Stretch from the Earth to the Sun a Billion Times Over
A new map of global mycorrhizal fungi details the massive scope of the vital systems
These Overlooked Pollutants Cause About 15 Percent of Global Warming
And scientists are sounding the alarm
Zoology
See more ZoologyHow Animals Communicate Across Species
From honeyguides to cleaner fish, cross-species cooperation abounds
How to Not Get Mauled on Your Hike This Summer
A new study goes deep on the interaction between activities and hostile wildlife
Philosophy
See more PhilosophyThe Inventor of the Thinking Machine Didn’t Worry. Neither Should You
In this age of AI anxiety, listen to your heart
Science Is Political—and Spiritual
Author and physicist Chanda Prescod-Weinstein on the crisis in American science
Aliens Probably Have Consciousness
A conversation with a philosopher about extraterrestrial and machine minds
Speaking More Languages May Help Slow Brain Aging
A new study suggests multilingual people have younger brains
Read more
See all postsMemory Loss May Not Be the Earliest Sign of Alzheimer’s
Your cognitive flexibility may go first
Here’s How Mosquitoes Survive the Deadly Viruses They Transmit
Tamped-down viral action keeps the mosquito vectors alive until they infect humans
Synthetic Cells to Sell Synthetic Biology
Researchers claim a major breakthrough with the first human-made cell. But is it “alive?”
This Blind Cave-Dwelling Fish May Be the Key to Understanding Brain Evolution
Its life in the darkness could shine a light on other neural rewiring
The Dangers of AI Voice Clones
Scammers are already manipulating us with the voices of our loved ones, but another risk lurks in the data collected by voice command and search apps
When It Comes to Back Pain, Maybe You Should be Your Own Doctor
Empowering patients to retake control of their back pain produced surprising results
Ovaries Might Take on an Immune Function After Menopause
The reproductive organs might have hidden role
Rat Disease Has a New Pick-Me-Up
Drugs in human waste may shape how disease spreads from rats to humans
The Emergence of a Deadly Hunting Technology in Prehistoric North America
The atlatl is handy enough to re-invent across cultures






































